Organic growth of innovation vs Centralisation of institutions, MRT

Innovation

1. Malaysian Government under Najib has a funny way of doing things. When things dont work, they undermine the whole system by duplicating the role. Take EPU. Planning without execution, botched megaprojects etc.. create PEMANDU.. hooray lots of megaprojects and EPPs for all ETP, which will meet the NKEAs being tracked by NKRAs. RMK10 throw in the dustbin. MOSTI not paying attention to the I, fine - create UNIK.
2. Leadership is about getting the right people on the bus, and making sure the wrong people gets off the bus. Especially in situation requiring hard decisions. Constrained resources. People respect you for doing the hard decisions, but you must explain yourself. The waffling, flip-flopping nature of Pak Lah's administration is now replaced by waffling, you-can-get-away-with-anything administration of Najib. At least, there are decisions. Wrong, but decisions nonetheless.
3. Now this creature of UNIK. What does it do first? Come up with an Akta that centralises innovation powers in its hand. The la-la hypothesis is that the Chief UNIK is a know-it-all and a snap of his fingers will cause the whole of Malaysia to tremble in fear and be innovative. Sounds like a Stalinist / Hitlerist maneouvre to me.
4. Why cant ppl in Malaysia be trusted to do the right things through incentivising innovative practices, and then discouraging stupid acts of giving some inflated contracts to unqualified people? Why cant the best global talents be facilitated into the country and lead and mould best practice entities, and hoping there is enough tech absorption by creating the environment for people to accept best practices? Why cant we do away with just giving some pieces of the cake to people we know who can talk their way out of trouble but probably lacks the competence and gumption to make a difference? Where are the innovative entrepreneurs (not the innovative rentiers) that the country has produced so far, and give them a free and facilitating hand to expand? What are incentives to offer to private capital to come in?
5. Instead, UNIK will have powers to 'streamline' existing funds and appoint innovation ambassadors. Fine, there are opportunities to improve, but these are incremental improvements, not game-changers as those outlined in Item 4. If UNIK can only do incremental stuff so that the game-changer explodes, I'm afraid innovation will still occur in Malaysia, but it will be inspite of UNIK not because of it.
6. Innovation will thrive when the environment allows it to. Lifelong education, primary, secondary, tertiary. Entrepreneurial training - engaging Entrepreneurs in Residence to mentor successful ventures. VCs and PEs need the deal pipelines in place, and this can be done by co-locating them into major innovation centers - and sorry, but somehow that means not in KL. Target sectors should be able to access global markets, but sorry, knowing a couple of MNCs may not be sufficient. Someone needs to tap local agencies with global reach, and large MNCs to open up market access. And this is no small matter if we look at some of the areas that we are interested in - large pharmas - US, Europe and India, industrial biotech - US, China, Europe, Brazil, ICT - mainly emerging markets, other sectors as relevant.  
7. If after no 6, what we do is centralisation, I'm afraid someone is hopelessly deluded. Innovation ecosystem and culture - and centralised in one single agency because the multi-agency committee / ministry failed to execute its function before. Perhaps this can be dismissed as just another Malaysian cynic. Maybe so. But if people up there are serious to do good, Rakyat Didahulukan and all that stuff, this is one hell of a strange way to carry out your functions - relying on one smartarse to perform what a ministry has failed to do.

MRT

1. It's shameful that the absurd costings and silly alignment that the EPP for MRT as shown in their open day kind of shows the shallowness of the proposal. The project feels and looks rushed. Accepting an unsolicited proposal from the private sector and after protests appointing the same company as a project manager, and then promising a Swiss Challenge is merely an afterthought. Just one question. Where is the bloody masterplan incorporating the whole transport planning for the Klang Vally and its adjacent satellite towns. If there isnt one, shame on PEMANDU, SPAD and everyone related to this proposal! Federal Highway will still be jammed because Subang Jaya isnt part of this planning. Where are the traffic forecasts? Where is the costing? Where is the inputs from the planning agencies from all the local authorities? Who is driving this - SPAD, PEMANDU, or GAMUDA? Who bloody cares about the increased property prices?
2. Worst thing (or Best of all) about all of this is a Citizen-watchgroup calling themselves TRANSIT has a proper masterplan and proposal to do this. Malu weh.

Malays, Chinese and other non-Malays II

10. Another day, another flip-flop. Or perhaps, a recalibrated and elaborated comment. At the end of the day, where is my position on issues? Do I trust or do I mistrust?

11. At the end of the day, we the Muslims, the Malays, the Malay-muslims, individuals, need to build our internal capabilities. We should not be dependent on handouts from the government, which equates to a handicap, not a permanent handicap but one we should grow out of. The Malays cannot be perpetual children depending on handouts and protection from parents, but slowly building up its own capabilities and maturity to take over the role of protectors.

12. Coming from that point of view, we should be wary. We shouldnt be naive. The Chinese has enormous organisational capability, so should we. The fact that we dont, the fact that we are so divided is the crux of the issue. The Chinese can sit down and agree on issues of common benefit to the community, like Chinese education. Even if there are disagreements, it is self-suppressed for the greater good. We should learn from this, not envy this unnecessarily, and invoke the fear that they will overcome and dominate us.

13. At the moment, many Malays are cowed into supporting UMNO. See Tun M's rant about Nik Aziz, deliberately pointing fingers at the inadequacies of his rival, exaggerating some of the views held by the some strains within PAS instead of looking at his strengths, not that I'm expecting him to do that. Tun understands the Malay psyche perfectly, that they sit back and look to see the winner in a duel, and then herd unthinking to the winner's camp. It's the classic feudalistic viewpoint. Deliberately sidesteps the fact that UMNO kicked PAS out of BN when they were already united back in the 70s. Ridiculing the Islamic state as a mindless cutting off hands brand of Islam without elaborating on the distributive justice, and therefore equating PAS's orthodoxy as some form of Talibanism.

14. I want the best for the Malays, the Muslims. It's not good to distinguish this identity, although in certain situations it needs to be done. But the best is for people to be educated, to be strong, to have convictions and to be firm. Not cower in fear.

15. For that to happen, people like Tun must be relegated to the background. His comments only inflame PAS's supporters, and further drive the wedge into the fractures. UMNO cannot continue in this 80s mode. If Tun really says he wants unity, it is by appealing to common interests. Economic strength, yes, but morality, justice and other human capital aspects are just as urgent and important, if not more. The common interests are that wealth is redistributed to middle-class and lower-class malays. The scholarships given out to outstanding students is the start of a dedicated, intensive program for the development of the malays - which perhaps must be a mandate for Teraju. No giving out of freebies to buy silence. Silly, crap cronistic businesses which drain life out of the community and the nation is killed off ruthlessly. No selective decisions based on you-know-who, but purely based on merit., starting with the malay community first if the political will is not there to implement it within the NEM.

16. Tun has done wonderful things as a PM. At the same time, the nation disintegrating in front of our very eyes cannot be rehabilitated with the same dosage that Tun has been dishing out. I am ashamed of the DSAI trials in 1999 as it is now. It is a sham trial, especially when RTC and CSL is walking around freely. This is gross injustice. Tun M doesnt recognise the damage this is doing to the nation, and insists that procedurally this was correct. If he cannot / will not recognise this as a defect, he cannot rectify it, and the damage to institutions and the national psyche this causes far outweighs his contributions. He should remain silent and let Najib do damage limitation, not that Najib doesnt have enough problems with models, NEM or Mongolian.

17. Malaysian politics is described as sham, colourful, interesting etc. In fact, it's a lie. It's too dishonest and it overshadows all the good work the government could have done. If Tun desists, PKR will probably shoot itself in its foot, femur and face. But right now, it's a reminder of how bad things were before in Tun's time. Probably, he is in fear of being painted in the same colours as Mubarak, Gaddafi and Ben Ali.

Malays, Chinese and other non-malays

1. Utusan went to town Saturday on PAS back-tracking and giving support to the Malay agenda. TERAS Chairman (?) said that the Malay economic issues must be addressed satisfactorily and not be glossed over by Pakatan Rakyat. In Primaya, there was this CNY celebration which was quite strange as it was the first time a Chinese celebration was held there after 3 years. Reading MI makes you want to knock your head against a wall when Chinese chauvinists go over the top in their criticisms of anything UMNO. (and you can sort of visualise the kid gloves when talking about MCA or other non-Malay partners in the BN)
2. There is truly a need to go to a common concensus on upholding basic principles. Addressing the truth for instance is a good start. So, call a spade a spade if you must, no covering up. (what was the word scully used again? obfuscation?) That goes not just to Chinese chavs, but also the more blinkered of all politicians.
3. Let's start by listing too many of the contentios issues and try to lay it down to rest once and for all. First, is UMNO a British stooge who won independence? To my knowledge, this is not true. Looking from the British perspective, once decolonisation became a policy due to the burden of maintaining far-flung colonies, there was only the question of who their preferred partner will be. Regardless of the fact that their insistence on the Alliance arose from the fear of "islamist" / left-leaning elements in Hizbul Muslimin or other less savoury alternatives, the due process was accorded and recognition must be given when there was support to the Alliance from the populace (through democratic elections) as well as the monarchs of the federated states. In the end, the federation model and its subsequent Constitution became the de facto model of the state. The question of a British stooge does not arise.
4. Social contract - citizenship in return for power, and later on the acceptance of Malay dominance through its monarchs and special position. That remains, and should not be questioned.
5. NEP was introduced, and was the right prescription for the issues of economic disparity amongst the races in the 60s. (It should have brought about greater social cohesion. The fact it does not means that the pendulum has swung too much the other way)
6. So now that I have affirmed UMNO's position, there is no issue right? Wrong. UMNO has made major mistakes - the vasectomy of judiciary prime amongst the loss of confidence in public policies. Malays are angry that the Malay-centric policies do not benefit the general classes, the non-Malays are angry at continued marginalisation due to the ineffective execution of Malay-centric policies as a whole. in 3/08, the Opposition made massive political inroads.
7. Then they started making a mess of things. Instead of taking on issues they were mandated to do, like becoming a more effective public administrator, they started to act like UMNO 2.0 and BN 2.0. Politicking about taking over the federal govt through the backdoor. Acting like schoolkids on the Perak takeover. Bleeding elected reps, members and supporters - no signs of coagulation yet. Talking daft things on changing State constitution, not recognising a Federally appointed State Sec, even when procedures have been followed etc. Token support for justice in the form of ISA etc, but full-blooded support when one of their own is "unjustly treated' - DSAI, TBH etc. If BN thot the voters are daft, PR acted like the voters are daft. At least, BN is actively wooing neutrals and fencesitters. PR acts as if the votes they gained in 2008 are their perennial property.
8. In the end, here we are. The Chinese electorate are invigorated. They are sophisticated, socially instinctive to safeguard their own interests and unwilling to take risks as regards to their self-interest. The Indians are too fragmented to impact on the political scene, so the stakes are between the large Malay electorate and the solid Chinese king-makers.
9. What of my personal view? The need to always speak the truth, stand up for truth. If anything, the issues are still issues of what people will bring to eat at the table. Looming global challenges are looming. Our politicians continue to squabble about the arrangement of the deckchairs on the Titanic after crashing into the iceberg. Chinese issues and Malay issues are different, but the solution is the same. Return to the needs of social justice and equality. The same concepts that Islam came to enforce. Let us not be too defined by the colour of our skin. Malays have progressed since 1969, we are no longer a race of fishermen and farmers. Many are now professionals. Unfortunately, the continued awkward execution of NEP means that we are now a race of government officers, GLC professionals, toll booth operators, bank tellers, and others. Create a level playing field. Let the Malays compete. Let them find the solutions. Let the government step back. Allow Islamists to dominate Malay society. At least we wont be reading daily news items of abandoned babies.